Argh...

So, having just spent £800 on a new computer, I want to play everything on it, but thats where the dilemma strikes. Most of my friends who I regularly hang out with, go drinking with etc, all play Xbox, and it just so happens to be that all but one guy out of our 'group' don't have gaming PC's. Now I'm pretty sure we all know about these damn exciting releases coming out soon.

Battlefield 3
Modern Warfare 3
Deus Ex
The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

You see I don't have that many friends who play on PC, but I really want BF3 on PC, I want to see the Frostbite 2 engine in all it's glory. As for Skyrim I'm not too sure, but with all the mods out for Oblivion, I don't want to miss out on mods for Skyrim, and of course it will look better. Deus Ex, meh, I really don't know about that one. Modern Warfare 3, I'm nearing towards console for that one, who gives a monkeys about graphics for that anyway.. it's the same engine from years ago right? :P

I guess ultimately what I'm asking myself is should I sacrifice friend filled fun for better graphics and gameplay?

Hmmm, maybe.

I got hired!

So, I recently applied for a position for reviewing (etc) over at TechHacking.com

They got back to me and now I write for them!

Wrote my first review on Pokemon Black. Check it out at Tech Hacking.

Im back!

After a long time doing, well, not much... Ive decided to start posting here again. More material to follow soon!

(Pic unrelated)

Call of Duty Black Ops Multiplayer Perks List (Unconfirmed Details)

First Perk Slot / Tier One

Lightweight

Lightweight allows you to sprint faster than the default. I’m not sure whether it will be as fast as the MW2 version, but its inclusion has been confirmed.
Lightweight Pro: Lightweight Pro, like the MW2 version, will allow you to aim much quicker after sprinting.

Scavenger

Scavenger is back in Black Ops and allows you to resupply from dead bodies. I’m not exactly sure whether it allows you to refill your noobtubes. I’m hoping that it doesn’t.
Scavenger Pro: Scavenger Pro also acts like the MW2 version. It will provide you with extra magazines for your weapon.

Ghost

I’m guessing that Ghost will act like Cold Blooded in MW2. You will be undetectable by the Spy Plane and the Blackbird.
Ghost Pro: Ghost Pro will act like Cold Blooded Pro. Your red name won’t appear above your head and enemy crosshairs won’t widen when placed over you.

Hardline

Hardline is back in Black Ops and it allows you to get your killstreaks one kill earlier.
Hardline Pro: Hardline Pro, unlike MW2, will allow you to get a second chance on the results of care packages. This means that if you get something you don’t like, you can swap it for another package.

Flak Jacket

Flak Jacket is a new perk in Black Ops. It kind of works like the Blast shield equipment in MW2 in the way that it decreases the amount of damage taken from enemy explosives.
Flak Jacket Pro: Resets the fuses of grenades when you toss them back and also gives you an extra bit of added resistance to enemy explosives.

Second Perk Slot / Tier Two

Hardened

Hardened in Black Ops will act much like the FMJ attachments for guns in MW2. Hardened will allow deeper bullet penetration through walls.
Hardened Pro: Hardened Pro will give your bullets an extra damage count against aircrafts and turrets. It also reduces the amount of recoil you witness after being shot.

Scout

Scout acts much like the Steady Aim Pro perk in MW2. In Black Ops, Scout allows you to hold your breath for longer periods when scoping through a sniper rifle.
Scout Pro: This reduces weapon sway while aiming through a sniper scope.

Sleight of Hand

Sleight of Hand makes a reappearance in Black Ops. It will allow you to reload your weapon faster.
Sleight of Hand Pro: The Pro version of Sleight of Hand will allow you to aim down the sights of your weapon. However, it has been announced that Sleight of Hand Pro will not work with Sniper Rifles. This is because Treyarch wanted to make quickscoping more difficult to do in Black Ops.

Warlord

Warlord is the new name for Bling. It will allow you to have two attachments for a primary weapon.
Warlord Pro: Like Bling Pro, Warlord Pro will give you the ability to have two attachments on a secondary weapon.

Third Perk Slot / Tier Three

Marathon

Marathon makes a reappearance in Black Ops. It will allow you to sprint for longer distances. However, it will not act like Marathon in MW2, which allows you to sprint without having to stop and take a breather. This will work like Extreme Conditioning in Call of Duty 4.
Marathon Pro: Marathon Pro in Black Ops will prevent you from taking any fall damage. If you remember, this is what the Commando Pro perk in MW2 did. Marathon Pro in MW2 used to allow you to climb over objects faster.

Ninja

Ninja works like Ninja Pro in MW2. It will allow you to move silently by decreasing the sound of your footsteps. In MW2, the regular Ninja perk made you invisible to Heartbeat Sensors. As far as I’m aware, there will be no Heartbeat Sensors in Black Ops.
Ninja Pro: Ninja Pro in Black Ops will allow you to pass by motion detectors and camera spikes undetected.

Second Chance

In Black Ops, Second Chance allows you to pull out a pistol before dying. This works like Last Stand in MW2.
Second Chance Pro: The Pro version of Second Chance will work like Last Stand Pro in MW2. Instead of just being allowed to use your pistol, it will give you the ability to use your equipment before dying.

Hacker

The standard version of Hacker in Black Ops will act much like Sitrep in MW2. It will allow you to detect enemy equipment such as claymores and frag grenades.
Hacker Pro: Hacker Pro in Black Ops is a perk that everybody seems pretty excited about. Hacker Pro will allow you to booby trap enemy care packages. This means that the enemy care package might exploded in their face when they try to retrieve it. Another exciting feature of Hacker Pro is that it will give you the ability to turn enemy killstreaks and equipments friendly. In one video, a player using Hacker Pro runs up to an enemy sentry gun and “hacks it”, turning the sentry gun against the enemy.

Tactical Mask

This perk will reduce the effect of Flash grenades and other concussion grenades (Stun Grenades etc).
Tactical Mask Pro: This will give the player Night vision goggles.

Perks that Call of Duty Black Ops won’t have (Hooray!)

Stopping Power

For some reason, Treyarch have decided that Stopping Power will not be carried over into Black Ops. This means that the popular perk for that slot could become Lightweight, Ghost or Marathon.

Commando

Yes, Commando is gone…. and good riddance too. No more knife monkeys transporting across the map because they can’t use a gun properly. Treyarch listened to the community and decided to get rid of the perk.

One Man Army

After all of the One Man Army noobtube problems that plagued MW2, Treyarch have decided that OMA will not make a reappearance in Black Ops.

Danger Close

Danger Close was also a major pain. Some players would equip it and then spend the entire game noobtubing and running around the map with their RPG ready and primed to go. For this reason, Danger Close will NOT be in Call of Duty Black Ops.

Source: http://novascone.com

According to the game's director, Call of Duty: Black Ops turns the emotional focus up to eleven

Treyarch has thrown out the normal FPS hymn sheet for Call of Duty: Black Ops. Gone is the strong and ever-so-silent protagonist, and in his place is someone who possesses relatable traits like, say, a face and a voice. Treyarch is hopeful that this will help drawn the player into the story more completely.
The game opens with the "interrogation" of lead character Alex Mason. He's strapped to a chair and a shadowy figure gives him a few thousand volts of encouragement if he's not forthcoming with his answers. It's a tense scene, and Dave Anthony, Black Ops' director, says that was deliberately designed that way to get the player identifying and empathizing with Mason right away.
The game's levels are actually Mason's memories of past missions, and Anthony says that you will get to see how Mason's relationships with the characters in the game change as he relives his past. "The emotional focus that we've given Mason is more than we've ever done before for a character in a 'Call of Duty' game," Anthony says. "As you go through the story ... You will actually realize how it all comes together."
Early last month, Treyarch announced that David Goyer, the screenwriter that penned the Dark Knight, would consult on the script. Gary Oldman and Ed Harris are voicing characters in the game, and an insider source suggests that lead character Mason is played by Avatar actor Sam Worthington.
 Call of Duty: Black Ops comes out for Wii, Xbox 360, PC, and PS3 on November 9th.

Original Source: www.escapistmagazine.com

iPhone 4 Metalcover Backplate

Replacing your iPhone 4’s rear glass plate with a metal panel turns out to be ridiculously easy and, in the word of the wise Derek Zoolander, ridiculously good-looking.

The brushed-aluminum and plastic panels are straight swap-ins for the breakable glass backs that come as standard. To fit it, you remove a pair of screws either side of the dock connector, slide the glass off and the metal plate on, then replace the screws. It will take you longer to dig out your smallest screwdriver than it will to perform the mod.

The beauty of Apple’s external antenna design is that it needs no RF window to let the waves in and out, so this new plate shouldn’t affect the call-quality at all. It should also make the iPhone a touch lighter, and it certainly looks the part, with the bevelled edges sloping down smoothly towards the antenna loop.

If you want one, they cost $13, although they’re back-ordered right now. I imagine, too, that the seller will have to change the design pretty soon. The panel’s decoration is an exact copy of the original Apple one, right down to the Apple and iPhone logos, and the legend “Designed by Apple in California Assembled in China.” Apple isn’t going to be happy about that.

Also available in black.

Purchase!


Original Source [Wired]

New Dashboard Update Coming October 26th!

Microsoft show off the new Xbox 360 interface in preperation for Kinect

What happens if you need to answer your phone? Hmm..